political perspectives from Joni Hudson-Reynolds, an African-American Mom

Did you watch Blackish last night?

I watched the ABC new sitcom Blackish last night. Some have compared the show to the old Cosby show but there is no comparision. Sure both shows feature upwardly mobile black people but that is where the similarities end. The Cosby show was simply a funny show about a family who happened to be black. they were not ringing their hands questioning their success. They worked hard to get what they had and they enjoyed it. From the title of the show you know they will be questioning their identity and that is what they did last night. It will be interesting to see where they go with this theme over the season. Did you see the how? Share your thoughts.

Comments

I did not watch. I just discovered your blog when doing a search for info on Rob Schneider.

I am single. White. Male. 50ish. Rural Mid Westerner. I wonder if people think, “what is this guy subscribed to an ebony mom’s blog for?”

I saw your topics. I saw your comments/opinions and I thought, “Common sense!” Someone that is interested in many of the same things I am… the things that cause me to think about the world and about what’s going on in the world.

Why reveal my race? Was it necessary? I think no… most people are afraid to admit their race… and admit that the things that affect them affect everyone. That regardless of which president is in the white house, which news anchor “reports” on something, which war is waging anywhere, which… well pretty much which anything… affects every single one of us.

I am of the belief that it’s time for every one of us to begin ignoring the shows, the “leaders”, the news… anything that pits one of us against the other regardless of race.

I have found as I’ve grown older that I have things in common with those I disagree with on things! Imagine that. Imagine if the American people threw away all of the garbage we have been force fed regarding race and politics and a whole bunch of other stuff and came together to rally around freedom and civil liberties and other things that we can all probably pretty much agree on. Imagine!

The way I see it is that if we can agree on one main principle or a couple major things we can work out the other stuff or just agree to disagree. None of us will ever ever ever ever agree 100% on every single issue before us. But if we can just rally around one or two things we all agree on we can work through the disagreements without violence and without hate and all of the other crap that tears societies apart. Can this happen? I don’t know. But I like to think it can. I like to think that a white guy can subscribe to an Ebony Mom’s blog… rejoice in the things I agree with and *think* about the things I don’t see the same to maybe understand better. Maybe see that black and white isn’t always black and white…. that sometimes there are colors in between that have just as much significance and maybe even more importance than those two crazy sides that we are so addicted to. Like “Republican vs Democrat”. Muslim vs Christian. Sports team vs Sports team (fill in the team and the sport). There’s other colors in between all of these issues… colors that, if we allow ourselves to, will allow us to see a completely different world, country, community than we have ever seen.

Sorry for such a rant that maybe sounds insane. Thanks for your blog. Love it so far.

Didn’t watch it, don’t plan to. I have limited TV watching time and I refuse to waste it here. Just having a black family on does not make it a “Cosby show”, and I’m embarrassed by the notion that mainstream non-black America will tune in and think that all middle-to-upper-middle class black families kvetch over their identity. I give it six weeks. Maybe.

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